Prior to his birth, his mother had an experience that led her to believe her son would be an apostle. In his patriarchal blessing, this was reaffirmed.

When Church PresidentHeber J. Grant was pondering who to call to replace the vacancy caused by the passing of former Church President Joseph F. Smith, he decided to call on his good friend Richard W. Young, as many suspected he would. As he met with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to announce his decision, he found himself saying that the Lord wanted Melvin J. Ballard to serve instead. He used this experience to teach about inspiration and to testify that the Lord calls the leaders in the church, not the men who lead.

Ballard served for several years as president of the Northwestern States Mission of the church.